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A&R Factory Present: Sam Johnson

Posted on 11 April 2017

According to Reverbnation.com (January 2017) Sam Johnson is the #1 ranked Singer-Songwriter in all of San Francisco. Sam recently joined ANDY GRAMMER for the West Coast portion of his “Honey I’m Good Tour” performing live in front of thousands each night as Andy’s only opening act.

Sam’s original music is often heard in TV shows on FOX, BRAVO, MTV, SPIKE and more. In 2015 He was commissioned by the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) to write several songs which are still being used by the mixed martial arts promotion company to this day.  His rendition of “In The Midnight Hour” was chosen two years in a row for the MACY’S Black Friday sales campaign. Interscope Records recording artists “FLIP SYDE” did a rendition of Sam’s song “Tower Of Hollywood” and it became the title track of their most recent album “Tower Of Hollywood.”

Sam maintains a busy performance schedule at over 200 shows per year, playing dozens of college events, corporate events (Oakley Sunglasses, Oracle, Red Bull, Casamigos Tequila, and more), as well as festivals, tour dates, and residencies with The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, The Palace Hotel, The Grand Hyatt San Francisco, and Cavallo Point.

He inked his first distribution deal, with Ineffable Music Group (Same distribution and management company as popular Reggae band Stick Figure), which catapulted him into sharing stages with Andy Grammer,Shwayze, Collie Buddz, Anuhea, The Holdup and many more.

Sam’s journey hasn’t always been so glamorous though. He “paid dues” for years as a street performer in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, performing 5 days a week year round. It was through this rigorous performance schedule that Sam gained a loyal enough fan base to launch a Kickstarter campaign that funded the entire production of his 2014 release “The City,” produced by Alex Elena and Topher Mohr (Lily Allen, Citizen Cope, Mayer Hawthorne).

Sam’s is known for his soulful voice and lyrical whit. It is not uncommon to hear laughter come from a crowd at his performances.

He is often compared to artists like John Mayer and Dave Matthews.

http://samjohnsonlive.com

 

A&R Factory Present: Lawrence Hill

Posted on 26 March 2017

Described as an eclectic mix of Cat Stevens and John Mayer, up and coming English singer songwriter Lawrence Hill has become a popular staple of the independent music scene in London, performing at venues the likes of The Spice of Life and the Hard Rock Café. Combining contemporary musings with an ear for their roots, Hill strives to culminate his influences into a cohesive sound that’s authentic and unique unto himself. His latest studio endeavor, ‘Time Keeps Rolling On,’ is an intriguing excursion through singer songwriter infused rock and roll worth taking a listen to. Let’s delve into it.

‘Time Keeps Rolling On’ is in the same spiritual vein of ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me.’ It’s an anthem of friendship, but it avoids the cliché and manages to feel genuinely authentic and heartfelt. Hill’s songwriting is particularly interesting because he uses time as the shifting factor in a grounded friendship. A lifelong friend is someone you can see every day or once a year and the dynamic of the relationship remains the same. That’s what ‘Time Keeps Rolling On’ brings to mind – the kind of friendships that time, uncharacteristically, cannot touch.

Musically, ‘Time Keeps Rolling On’ juggles a few influences successfully. While it’s still most apt to classify it ‘singer songwriter’ music, it’s injected with doses of pop and R&B influence as well. The single sounds like it could have been picked up off the cutting room floor of a Jack Johnson session. It’s infectiously lovable with a sing-along chorus that isn’t kitschy – a difficult feat not to scoff at. Instrumentally, the song is performed exceptionally well, too, with fantastic harmonies, searing electric guitar, and thunderous percussion.

It also benefits Hill that the studio work on ‘Time Keeps Rolling On’ is especially good. I get singer songwriters across my desk on a daily basis that don’t fall within the same ballpark of production quality that Hill does with this new song. Everything is well mixed and mastered, exuding quality without feeling sterile, either. One can’t help but want to see Hill perform it live and see whether or not the intensity of the recording would translate to the stage well.

James Brown once famously said that if something “sounds good and feels good, then it is good.” Lawrence Hill’s ‘Time Keeps Rolling On’ sounds good and feels good, thus accomplishing two of the most important goals of music. It’s worth the time of anyone looking for a lovely singer songwriter pop tune to blast out their car stereo on their way to the beach come this summer.

www.lawrencehillmusic.com
www.facebook.com/lawrencehillmusic
www.soundcloud.com/lawrencehmusic
www.twitter.com/lawrencehmusic

Words By Brett David Stewart

A&R Factory Present: Jeff Beadle

Posted on 21 March 2017

Jeff Beadle, a Canadian folk singer-songwriter, was born into a music adoring family that encouraged his love for song writing. He started writing at 12 years old to immediate local recognition. He and a few school friends started playing local fairs, arcades and house parties – all with original song-writing. When in High School, he created multiple bands and attended all possible music classes while continuing to play live shows whenever he could.

Jeff now works alone every day, battling Toronto traffic all the while writing what has become The Huntings End. Over the last four years he has been cleaning and servicing the swimming pools of the elite in the downtown core. The daily solitude provoked the fears, tragedies and heartbreaks of his past. These strong reminiscences weighed heavy on his lonely days, begging for a release.

Jeff would arrange these feeling into rough songs on his cell phone, using voice memos and notes. Covered in grease and with chlorine stained clothes, he’d rush home to unpack the ideas, hashing out the fundamentals into melodies and complete lyrics. There is always rushed excitement to his creation, as is heard in the heartfelt tracks on The Huntings End.

His house is the local hub for all his friends. He makes late night dinners for everyone (Chef Jeff) that eventually turn into a wine infused testing ground for young songs. Based on this close to home feedback, Jeff would then fine tune his tracks at many local venues in Toronto. He plays constantly, at home, a-capella in the car, live shows at bars and backyards all for the love of playing and to fine tune his songs.

After running his songs through the local gauntlet of live venues, Jeff partnered up with his close friend Frank Gairdner to plan a raw and pure recording session. They chose Frank’s parent’s place, a quiet and remote farm house with 20 ft wood beam ceilings located on the rolling country hills of Southern Ontario. The evocative lyrics and catchy melodies reverberated wonderfully.

Jeff has a lot of experience that he draws from. The bands that he has headed cover many genres, have toured Canada multiple times as well as through China. He developed a love for the road while touring every nook and cranny of Canada. The unique towns and people that he met all had their own appreciation and love for music, and all of them had their own stories for having it.

For Jeff, this is one of the most important parts of writing music. Along with telling his own story, he needs to tell others’ as well. His intense empathy for people’s situations and losses motivate a lot of his music. The road was his library, gathering stories and experiences and translating them to music.

https://www.facebook.com/jeffreybeadlemusic/

A&R Factory Present: Patrick Joseph

Posted on 15 March 2017

For years, Patrick Joseph has forged a prolific career as a songwriter on the rise. You may have heard his music on such television shows as Gossip Girl, The Office, Chicago Fire, MTV’s Friendzone, or Happy Endings, to name a few. You might have caught him at festivals around North America such as SXSW in Austin, NXNE in Toronto, or CMJ in New York. Or maybe you’re just discovering his music for the first time. Regardless of how you’ve gotten to know him, you’ve already discovered quickly why Joseph’s had a steady rise to success over the past few years from the Los Angeles music scene to the international stage. With two releases and a few years of touring under his belt, singer/songwriter Patrick Joseph is no stranger to the craft, and 2015 shows no signs of slowing down for the young songsmith who hails from Los Angeles, CA.

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Joseph forges a mixture of pretty & gritty vocals, lush production and timeless songwriting, creating a presence that NOW Magazine describes as “A Gifted LA adult-contemporarist with a world-weary Waitsian voice and a Spoon meets Beatles soft-rock vibe.”

Patrick is largely independent, producing, recording, mixing, and until recently, performing all of his recordings on his own. A resident of the neighborhood of Silverlake in Los Angeles, Joseph has established himself as one of the rising stars in the buzzing songwriting scene of Southern California.

His latest release Hindsight brought Patrick Joseph on a US Tour, steady airplay around North America, several features in film & television and the honor of Producer Of The Year in the 2015 Independent Music Awards, as well as recently being named Best Male Pop/Rock Artist in the 2016 LA Music Critic Awards.

https://www.facebook.com/patrickjosephmusic/

A&R FactoryPresent: From Kid

Posted on 4 February 2017

Following the release of their acclaimed debut album, Swiss duo From Kid return to the fold with their sophomore LP ‘Favourite Storm’. Leading the way is the enticing single ‘New Gods’ out 17th February.

‘New Gods’ starts off with a warm, inviting vocal melody, instilling the innate sense of endearing intimacy that is laced throughout From Kid’s previous offerings. The track is restrained yet gripping. An unassuming guitar bounces gently throughout, working in harmony with the coy keyboard and atmospheric synths, painting a vast landscape to match the wondrous nature in which it was recorded. It’s no surprise that the relationship between human and nature marks a key element in the new From Kid, which might also explain the opening lyric “Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence.” Speaking about the track the band have said “In the song it is mother earth speaking to the human race, expressing its displeasure and showing power.”

The haunting visuals were filmed in a stunning forest veiled by a blanket of snow and far removed from the everyday urban chaos. The video juxtaposes the warmth and comfort of the track as the lone character meanders desperately through the chilling landscape before collapsing to his knees before the camera pans away; perhaps to demonstrate just how small we really are in this grandiose world.

The second full-length project ‘Favourite Storm’ saw the band remove themselves from the hectic hustle and bustle of city life and was recorded in the tranquility of the remote Graubünden mountain village Lohn. Dealing with the contrast between a man-made world and a wild natural world, the album ebbs and flows like a stormy night. Sometimes gentle and vulnerable like nature after a violent storm, then loud and melancholy like a hurricane sweeping over the forest; From Kid have created a more personal, bold body of work than that of its predecessor ‘You Can Have All The Wonders’.

Consisting of Andrin Berchtold and Gian Reto Camenisch, From Kid’s debut album saw them race into the top ten of the Swiss album charts in 2015 as well as being nominated for both ‘Best Emerging Act’ at the Swiss Talent Awards and ‘Best Breaking Act’ at the Swiss Music Awards. Their success not only lies in their native country but support from renowned tastemaker sites such as Nothing But Hope And Passion, Pause Musicale and The 405saw them climb to the top of the Hype Machine popular chart, garnering recognition on an international scale.

‘New Gods’ is the perfect introduction to From Kid’s forthcoming album and is a sincere piece of music that showcases Berchtold’s inherent talent for writing charming songs that bring to mind the meandering, brooding character of Wild Beasts. With the album out later this year we cannot wait to see where the duo’s beguiling journey takes them in 2017.

Find out more here.

A&R Factory Present: Cody Jay

Posted on 1 February 2017

Cody Jay is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album “Off the Vine” was released earlier this year, and he is currently gearing up for the release of an acoustic version of that album. In addition, Cody is working on his next album (geared towards a more electro-house/pop feel) as well as visuals to accompany the new music.

Cody Jay has thus far been responsible for writing, producing, and recording all of his music, and is currently in search of representation to help facilitate further growth in his career. “Off the Vine” – Acoustic is a cover album by Cody Jay. It is an acoustic version of his debut release album, “Off the Vine” and shows another side to Cody’s artistry. By stripping down the music production to only that of a guitar and piano, Cody showcases his true talents and vocal abilities. These songs take on an entirely new feel, and shed new light on Cody and his music.

Check out more from Cody Jay here

A&R Factory Present: Luke De-Sciscio

Posted on 30 January 2017

Home movies show him at three years old singing ‘boo-boo-bah-loo’ over Louis Armstrong records under the nurturing watch of his grandfather, John.

Himself, a music junkie and keen guitarist, it was to emulate John and follow in those loving steps that Luke De-Sciscio took to music and hungered to learn guitar. Those early years, playing the blues with his grandfather, sank their teeth deep into Luke’s soul. The seed was sewn.

He had dabbled in bands throughout school; exploring Funk, Rock and Blues though it wasn’t until spending several years living on a boat in the English countryside that he began to find his own voice – stripped back, unguarded and delicate.

Debut LP “Gossamer Rose” was recorded live over the course of one evening with a few good friends over a few bad beers – its raw honesty invites the listener into that night to share in the stories told.

Universally personal and cutting with truth, ‘Gossamer Rose’ has been praised for its intricate guitar work and described as “a haunting example of the beauty of the folk genre.”